


All in the ... timing

by AnythingButPink



Category: NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-07-12 15:55:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7112455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnythingButPink/pseuds/AnythingButPink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gibbs and Pride have always had chemistry, but they've also always had at least one wife on the scene. A case brings newly-single Pride to Washington - could their timing finally be right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	All in the ... timing

“Frankly, I reckon there's more to this than meets the eye, Director.”

Vance leaned forward, steepling his fingers. “Is your gut as reliable as Gibbs'?”

“You gotta ask, Leon?”

Pride and Vance turned to see Gibbs step into the office.

“I had a whole new manual drawn up just for your gut, Gibbs, so yeah, I gotta ask.”

Gibbs tilted his head and let his eyebrows signal their owner's scepticism.

“I'm telling you, Director, there's more to this than a petty officer gone awol. His XO says this is completely out of character for Novak. He's a good sailor with a clean sheet and,” Pride paused, “a new bunkmate full of snide remarks.”

“You think your missing petty officer had his feelings hurt? Why didn't he report the guy for harassment? You think he jumped ship because he got called a few names?” Vance leaned back in his chair.

“I think 'don't ask, don't tell' did the petty officer no favours,” said Pride.

Understanding illuminated and then darkened Gibbs' face.

“And when I say he jumped ship, I mean it literally,” said Pride. “He made himself a rope out of bedding and dropped into the water while his ship was docked overnight. Lucky for him, CCTV on the docks put me on his trail. He's coming to Washington, Director, and I know where he's going to be.”

“Okay, Pride,” said Vance, “Gibbs' team can back you up. For now.”

“Thank you, Director.”

“Don't thank me yet. You've not been on a stakeout with DiNozzo before, have you?”

Gibbs leaned in, clapped a hand to Pride's shoulder and said, “We should get moving. Don't want to lose our quarry.”

 

***

 

Gibbs closed the door behind them and gently pulled Pride to a halt. “I was sorry to hear about you and Linda.”

Pride blanched. “This job's accounted for a lot of relationships over the years – though I'm not sure handing in my badge would have saved us.”

“Still, I'd hoped you two would succeed where the rest of us failed.”

“Sorry to let you down, my brother.”

Gibbs gave him a look. “Rule 6, Dwayne. And you've let nobody down.” He stared down into the bullpen. “Come on, let's go find your petty officer.”

“Is DiNozzo as bad as Vance says?”

Gibbs grinned at him. “Nah, but you don't need to worry about that. I'm coming with you.”

“Well, okay then,” said Pride, a smile creasing his face. “Let's roll.”

 

***

 

“Just like old times,” said Pride from the passenger seat.

Gibbs, still facing Novak's mother's house, blinked and in that millisecond of darkness remembered...

The dark alley; the bricks against his back; Pride's broad, strong body pressed against him; the smell of sweat and cologne and arousal; Pride's mouth on his own – firm, controlling, electrifying; his hands on Pride's face, the unfamiliar rasp of stubble under his palms unexpectedly making him harder; Pride's hands sliding down his body to his hips; and the moment Gibbs remembered Linda and reluctantly said 'No more'.

And then there was daylight, but still no movement on the street.

“So, you seeing anyone at the moment?”

Pride considered lying, but knew he couldn't fool Gibbs. Knew too that Gibbs would understand the lie and forgive him. But having thought about those penetrating blue eyes being turned on him, he could only answer “Nope”.

They watched two seniors walking steadily down the road, and a mom with a stroller coming the other way. Still nothing from no 107.

“You got somewhere to stay?”

Gibbs hadn't taken his eyes off the house for a moment. Pride kept his own gaze on their target and tried to maintain his cool.

“Not yet. Any suggestions?”

“That your boy?” Gibbs nodded his head at a young man walking quickly along the sidewalk, cap pulled low over his face, eyes down.

“I'll buy you dinner if it isn't.”

Gibbs swallowed his smile and made ready to open the door. “Buy? What happened to 'make you dinner'?”

“I didn't bring a camping stove and I'm pretty sure there ain't a hotel in the whole of Washington that would let me use one anyway.”

Gibbs pulled a face before stepping out of the car. “You know better than that, Dwayne.”

He walked around to join Pride, the young man now just 50 feet away. His pace slowed a little and then he turned on his heel and sprinted in the opposite direction.

“Looks like I'm cooking,” muttered Gibbs, throwing himself back into the car as Pride chased down the street, hollering “NCIS, stop!”

Novak had youth on his side, but strength and stamina had Pride slowly gaining on him. He saw the car fly past them and Gibbs swerve it across the tarmac to form a road block.

Gibbs was already out of the car, aiming his weapon and calling out, “Quit while you're ahead, petty officer.”

Novak's head flicked from side to side, looking for an escape route. In that moment of distraction, Pride tackled him and they slid with a thump into the car. Pride secured Novak's wrists behind his back and pulled him off the hood of the car. “Understand you're having some trouble with your bunkmate, Novak. If you promise not to run off again, Special Agent Gibbs here and I would be happy to offer our assistance.”

Novak eyed him suspiciously over his shoulder.

“We're good listeners, petty officer,” said Gibbs, returning his gun to its holster.

“Fat lot of good that'll do me,” muttered Novak.

“Oh, you'd be surprised,” said Gibbs with one of his most infuriating smiles.

 

***

 

Four hours later Novak's mother accompanied her son out of the bullpen.

“See you back here in the morning, son,” said Pride.

“Yessir!” Novak addressed a sharp salute at the man who had spent the afternoon saving his career, before turning to follow his mother into the elevator.

“Nice kid,” said DiNozzo.

“Yes, indeed,” said Pride. “You get everything cleared with his XO?”

DiNozzo grinned. “Oh yes. And LaSalle and Brody are having a little chat with Novak's bunkie as we speak.”

Pride pursed his lips and frowned. “Almost feel sorry for him.” He grinned. “Almost.”

DiNozzo slid a little closer and dropped his volume a notch or two. “So, you've known the boss a long time, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

DiNozzo, like Novak earlier in the day, turned his head from side-to-side, checking the room. “Has he always been so … _Gibbs?”_

Pride's eyebrows made an attempt to join his hairline.

“He's behind me, isn't he?” said DiNozzo, bracing himself for a slap to the back of the head.

“Nope, but he doesn't need to be. I can't remember what number it is, but 'Never screw over your partner' is definitely one of Gibbs' rules, and I ain't about to break it.”

Pride's gaze flicked across the room to where Gibbs was now striding through, dropping an empty coffee cup in the trash, and collecting his jacket as he went.

“You coming', Dwayne? Dinner's on me.”

“Sounds like an offer I can't refuse.” He clapped DiNozzo on the shoulder. “Till next time, DiNozzo.”

“Good to see you again, Special Agent Pride. Night, boss.”

 

***

 

They were the only customers left in the diner by the time they had cleared their plates. The waitress, a new girl whose chestnut hair was pulled painfully tight off her face in a neat bun and who looked closer to fourteen than eighteen, had taken Gibbs' money and was fighting with the cash register.

Gibbs and Pride sat in silence across the table. Pride's arms steepled and his chin resting in his hands, Gibbs leaning back against the seat, head cocked to one side, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

The girl returned to the table, handed Gibbs his change and smiled shyly when he peeled off a healthy tip and pressed it back into her hand.

“Have a good evening,” she said as they slipped out of their seats and shrugged into their coats.

“We will,” said Gibbs, gifting her a wink that brought a blush to her pale cheeks.

 

***

 

It was clear from the moment Gibbs started driving that they weren't going back to his home.

“You wanna tell me where we're going, Jethro?”

The streetlights gave just enough light to reveal Gibb's knowing-but-not-telling smile. “Nope.”

“Should I have gone to the bathroom before we started this road trip?”

Gibbs barked a laugh in reply, slowed the car and turned it right into a dark and deserted street. He drew the car close to the kerb and switched off the ignition. “You coming?”

“I still don't know where we're going.”

Gibbs winked at him. “Down memory lane, my brother.”

 

***

 

Pride followed Gibbs along the barely lit street and into an even darker alley. Gibbs' flashlight skated and bounced over trash cans and dumpsters as they picked their way through the obstacles. They turned another corner, into another alley. Here there was a faint sheen of light falling from a window high above, just enough that Pride could see Gibbs standing still and surveying his surroundings as he pocketed the flashlight.

“What's going on?”

Gibbs turned swiftly on his heel, took a step forward and leaned in to press a light, dry-lipped kiss to Pride's mouth.

Pride's brow crinkled. “You wanna do this _now?”_

Gibbs shrugged. “You don't want to do it, just say the word.”

Pride brought his hands up to Gibbs' neck, running a thumb along his jaw, and trying to remember how to breath.

“I was never really sure. Back then. Thought perhaps you were sparing my feelings.”

Gibbs pulled a face and Pride laughed.

“Yeah, I guess that does sound kinda stupid, but...”

Gibbs brought his own hands up and pulled Pride in to kiss him again, soft and hard at the same time. He broke away with a familiar tilt of the head. “Time wasn't right then. Could be now though.”

Pride replied with a greedy kiss, desire ramped up by Gibbs dropping one hand to his waist, and reaching the other around his head to bury fingers in his hair. When they finally broke apart, Pride grinned. “I'd say your timing was perfect, Jethro.”

Gibbs rolled his eyes and dropped his head to press a kiss to the soft skin behind Pride's ear. His lips drifted a short distance to another inch of smooth, tanned neck and left another kiss behind. He moved slowly, tracing a path towards Pride's collar bone, alternating kisses with tiny nips or licks, and being rewarded with a soft moan next to his ear.

“You think we should, uh, take this somewhere more private?” Pride struggled to get the words out.

“This _is_ more private than my place. Unless you wanna risk Fornell joining us?”

Pride shuddered.

Gibbs grinned. “I didn't think so,” he said and found Pride's mouth with his own. He felt hands drop to his waist, slide beneath his jacket and start pulling at his shirt. A thrill of arousal flashed through him at the feel of Pride's warm fingers on his skin and he let Pride swivel them to the wall.

The memory of their first encounter in this alley flickered across Gibbs' synapses and he let his head rest against the bricks as Pride dragged the neck of his undershirt low enough to suck a hickey on to his collar bone.

This time it was Gibbs' hands sliding down to rest on Pride's hips, as Pride ran one hand up his neck, brushing long fingers over the stubble that was most of Gibbs' haircut. Gibbs pulled him closer. Pride raised his head, grinned and found Gibbs' mouth in the near total darkness. He could feel Gibbs' hand sliding lower, his palm tracing Pride's arousal, and a soft moan escaped his lips.

Gibbs dragged his hand heavily over the cloth until he reached Pride's belt and began unbuckling it; Pride almost pushing him through the wall with the urgency of his kiss. Gibbs had the button and the fly open now, pushing soft cotton away and wrapping his fingers around Pride's cock. Pride's knees buckled for a moment, not helped by Gibbs running his thumb over the head, slicking it with pre-come.

“You alright there, Dwayne?” Pride couldn't see the sly grin, but he sure as hell could hear it.

“Never better, Jethro. Just you remember, I always give as good as I get.”

Gibbs leaned forward, his lips brushing Pride's skin. Warm breath carried “I'm counting on it, King,” into Pride's ear, prickling the hairs on the back of his neck to attention.

Gibbs' slow, firm pull on his cock sent Pride's spinning thoughts southwards as he slapped one hand against the bricks for support and took Gibbs' mouth again in an urgent, needy kiss. Gibbs brought his left hand up to Pride's face, the feel of that strong jaw beneath his fingers making him somehow, impossibly, harder. His right hand moved easily over slippy, silken skin and quickly found a rhythm that had Pride moaning into his mouth. Pride's breath hitched once and then again, before he came with a cry in Gibbs' hand. He dropped his head to Gibbs' shoulder as he fought for the composure to speak.

“Dammit, Jethro, I feel like I'm back in high school.”

“Yeah, Jackson would have kicked both our asses then, and he'd do the same now if he caught us, so...”

Pride pressed a kiss to his lips to stop him talking and worked quickly to free Gibbs' cock from his clothing, punctuating his words with more short, firm kisses. “One. Good. Turn. Deserves. Another.” He wrapped his fingers around Gibbs' cock, slick with pre-come, and heard Gibbs' head drop back on to the wall.

He sank to his knees and delicately licked the tip of Gibbs' cock, the tang of pre-come spreading across his tongue. Something between a growl and a moan escaped Gibbs' throat and he dropped one hand to bury his fingers in Pride's hair. Pride gave a long, slow pull on Gibbs' cock and drew another teasing lick on the head before taking it in his mouth.

Gibbs' world shrank to the sensation of Pride's hot, wet mouth, firm tongue and strong hand on his cock. He knew he wouldn't last long. The pure physical pleasure alone would have toppled him, but the knowledge that it was Pride, broad-shouldered, alpha male of the Big Easy, on his knees in front of him, was just too much. He whispered a warning, “Dwayne...” but Pride merely hollowed his cheeks to suck a little harder and swallowed as Gibbs came with a sigh.

As Gibbs sagged against the brickwork, his turn now to find his way back to Earth, Pride stood, readjusted his clothing and found his own patch of wall to lean against. “Told you I give as good as I get.”

Gibbs brought his clean hand up to rest on Pride's shoulder. “Well, that was definitely worth waiting for.”

“This isn't like an eclipse thing, right? We don't have to wait another 20 years before we do this again?”

Gibbs barked a laugh and started to clean up. “No, but we're both going to have to make our sleeping arrangements a little more secure if we don't want to freak the kids out.” He pushed himself upright and turned to kiss Pride, a new buzz of arousal prickling as he tasted himself in Pride's mouth.

“For now, let's get back to my place for some of that 'laissez les bon temps rouler' you're always talkin' about.”

Pride grinned as he followed Gibbs back towards the car. “Now, you're talking my language, my brother.”

Gibbs rolled his eyes as he felt for the car keys. “Always have, Dwayne, always have.”


End file.
